Reece's pieces
by ALovedOne
Summary: The s'morelet will no longer be the only strange food in the Caskett household. And Castle is happy to help his son Reece create his perfect sandwich.


"You have heard of the s'morelet, now get ready for what I like to call … the great and delicious 'Grilled peanut butter and jelly'," announced Castle as he handled the pan on the stove with a smile on his face.

His six-year-old son Reece jumped around his legs in excitement.

* * *

It was late Saturday morning and Castle had made a habit out of making everyone their favorite breakfast every time the five of them were all together. Kate had taken the day off after a week filled with a case that took forever to solve, late nights at work, and feeling like she hadn't seen her family in forever.

Lily had already been served her breakfast muffin, Jake was munching on his pancakes with chocolate sauce, and Kate had been handed her French toast.

Castle had just begun preparing his and Reece's s'morelet – his son's usual first choice – but the little boy had interrupted his routine by tugging at his shirt and proclaimed, with a big grin on his face, that he had a genius idea.

He insisted on whispering it into Castle's ear, aware that, if his mother heard, she might not be too keen on trying out the idea. Kate's face always distorted in disgust when she saw the infamous Castle food creation, and it was highly unlikely that she would support a new and rather… special food item.

In fact, no other Castle family member was a fan of the s'morelet. Castle had forced everyone to try it at least once, and, much to his disappointment, they all had a similar reaction to Alexis's years ago. Lily even insisted that she had been poisoned, causing Castle to sulk for the rest of the day.

Reece, however, had not only finished his own first s'morelet entirely, he had also stolen some of Jake's, until he was caught by Kate, who feared he would be on an absolute sugar high for the rest of the day. Since then, the little boy had consistently requested the creation, and only occasionally opted for something like pancakes.

* * *

When Castle heard the boy's whispered idea and instructions, he chuckled. It definitely sounded odd, even to his ears, but he willingly accepted the challenge, rummaging through the kitchen to find the required ingredients. Kate only shook her head as she looked over from the table, but she wasn't about to ruin anyone's fun. So she instead settled on eyeing her boys' moves skeptically. And then the skepticism on her face was replaced by disgust as she began to realize what Reece's recipe entailed.

Castle prepared and cooked the meal with care, intending to materialize Reece's imagination perfectly. At first, it looked as though he was preparing a regular grilled cheese – until he grabbed the strawberry jam from the fridge and some peanut butter from the cupboard and slathered it onto the inside of the bread as well.

Grilled cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were two of her son's favorite things, and apparently it had crossed the boy's mind that he could combine the two flavors to create the ultimate sandwich.

* * *

By now, even her other two kids temporarily halted the devouring of their meals as they walked over and watched their dad and brother busying themselves in the kitchen.

"You're not supposed to play with food," Jake chanted, sticking out his tongue as his twin brother stared at him with an offended look on his face.

"He's just trying to be creative," responded Castle, just as Reece opened his mouth to protest.

"Or trying to poison someone… like you, Dad," Lily exclaimed.

"I will pretend not to have heard that very offensive remark about my qualities as a chef," joked Castle. Although he was still a little bit upset that neither of his daughters enjoyed his blend of an omelet and a s'more.

Castle removed the sizzling toast from the pan and placed it on a plate. Holding it up slightly for everyone who had returned to their seats to see, he proudly announced the newest creation of the Castle household. He picked up his s'morelet that he had cooked simultaneously, put the plates on the table and waited for Reece to follow him to his regular spot.

Castle waited until he settled, then sat down next to him.

* * *

"I still don't understand how you can keep this down," murmured Kate, pointing at Castle's plate. "But _this_ ," she said, subtly looking in Reece's direction, "is even worse. He'll probably just take a bite and stop. We'll be lucky if he doesn't throw up."

"I won't!" protested Reece who overheard Kate's quiet remark.

"Dare you to finish it!" challenged Jake. Lily laughed.

"Give him a chance to try," prompted Castle, temporarily quieting the teasing that had ensued.

Reece grinned, and took the toast into his hands, taking a second to admire his invention before taking a big bite. The attention of everyone at the table was on him, eager to see his reaction.

Finally, Reece finished chewing and swallowed. "That," he started, "is the best thing I've ever had in my entire life."

"I think _I'm_ gonna throw up," said Lily.

"Yeah, me too," whispered Kate, only for Castle to hear, who silently laughed in response.

He high-fived Reece. "You, my boy, have done me proud."

* * *

It was quiet for a brief moment during which everyone besides Castle watched Reece begin to eat the rest of his breakfast in disbelief. Then, the teasing and joking insults continued. Castle turned his attention away from his children, looking at Kate instead who slowly shook her head.

"Who knew there could be someone in this world whose taste is as disturbing as yours?" she laughed.

"Oh, I don't know," Castle responded, while he took her hand and leaned in to give her a quick kiss. "I think I have pretty good taste overall."

Kate smiled. "Overall, maybe. But some of your cooking experiments are… questionable."

"Thought you loved it when I cooked for you?" he teased.

"I do," she admitted. "But not like _that_. You know, I might really have to take that stuff to the lab. Make sure it doesn't actually poison anyone."

Castle laughed and then interrupted their children's bickering to suggest plans for the rest of the day. Kate smirked, her thoughts drifting as her husband and kids eagerly discussed the day's events.

She might not ever like any of the crazy creations, but one of her sons fully embraced them. And when she saw him and Castle roam through the kitchen earlier, she again realized how much Reece resembled his father in more than one way.

While his liking of s'morelet was undeniably a thing she didn't understand, seeing it reflected in their son was kind of sweet. Because his liking of strange flavors showed her that parts – granted, also weird parts – of the love of her life were duplicated and happily running around the world – or their living room.

 ** _\- The End_**

* * *

 _A/N: This is just a small fic that I wrote for the fun of it. I also wanted to practice writing for a bit. Any feedback is appreciated!_


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